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African Swine Fever

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African swine fever is a contagious and deadly viral swine disease affecting domestic

and feral swine of all ages. It cannot be transmitted to people, and properly

prepared pork products are safe to eat. Although it is not a direct threat to human

health, its deadly nature in swine could result in pork product shortages, disruptions

to trade, and economic impacts. There is no treatment or vaccine so the best way to

protect pigs is by prevention.

African swine fever has never been found in the United States, and we want to keep

it that way. It has recently been found in countries close to the United States,

including the nearby Caribbean islands of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which

increases the threat of an African swine fever outbreak here. APHIS is working with

Federal and State government agencies, the swine industry, and producers to keep
African swine fever out of the United States. We are also preparing to respond if this

disease is detected here.

What To Look For

High fever

Decreased appetite and weakness

Red, blotchy skin or skin lesions

Diarrhea, vomiting, or both

Coughing and difficulty breathing

Abortions or sudden death

Factsheet: African Swine Fever: Know the Signs and Symptoms (74.49 KB)

How To Prevent This Disease

Practice good biosecurity! Biosecurity means doing everything you can to reduce

the chances of an infectious disease being carried onto your farm. Work with your

local veterinarian to develop a proper biosecurity plan for your facility. Visit Swine

Disease for more information on biosecurity and related topics.

Keep your pigs away from feral swine. If your pigs have access to the outdoors,

use double fencing and other measures to make sure your pigs don't come in

contact with feral swine.

Don't bring African swine fever home with you when you travel abroad:

Don't bring pork products from countries that have the disease. They can carry

African swine fever into our country.

If you visit a farm while overseas, tell U.S. Customs and Border Protection when

you return to the United States.

Thoroughly clean and disinfect, or dispose of, any clothing or shoes that you

wore around pigs before returning to this country.

Do not visit a farm or property with pigs, livestock market, sale barn, zoo,

circus, pet store with potbellied pigs, or any other animal facility with pigs for at
least 5 days after you return to the country.

Learn more at Traveling With Food or Agricultural Products.

Visit Protect Our Pigs to learn more about what you can do to keep your pigs safe

from African swine fever.

How It Is Treated

There is no treatment or vaccine. The only way to stop the disease is to depopulate

all affected and exposed pigs.

Report Signs of Animal Disease

Producers or owners who suspect an animal disease should contact their

veterinarian to evaluate the animal or herd. Find an accredited veterinarian.

Animal health professionals (veterinarians; diagnostic laboratories; public health,

zoo, or wildlife personnel; and others) report diagnosed or suspected cases of

nationally listed reportable animal diseases to APHIS District Offices and to the State

animal health official as applicable under State reporting regulations. 

Controlling African Swine Fever

Surveillance

The ongoing spread of African swine fever in Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean as well

as classical swine fever in the Caribbean and South America has spiked concerns

about their potential to enter the United States. APHIS is leading nationwide

surveillance for both diseases.

African and Classical Swine Fever Integrated Surveillance Plan outlines current

diagnostic and surveillance methodologies for both diseases.

Swine Hemorrhagic Fevers Surveillance Dashboard allows users to interact with

African and classical swine fever surveillance data.
Swine Hemorrhagic Fever Surveillance Evaluation Brief highlights successes of

the integrated surveillance plan after its first year of implementation and

opportunities for improving it.

Surveillance activities target:

Swine suspected of having African swine fever, classical swine fever, or both

Samples taken from sick pigs that are submitted to an APHIS-approved National

Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratory

Pigs condemned at slaughter by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service

Pigs raised outdoors with potential exposure to feral swine or pigs fed garbage

(considered high-risk pigs)

Feral swine collected by APHIS Wildlife Services

Preparing for African Swine Fever

Working with Federal and State partners and the swine industry, APHIS has put in

place a comprehensive plan to prepare for and respond to a detection of African

swine fever in the United States.

Hear from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the former U.S. Chief

Veterinary Officer Jack Shere as they talk about the steps APHIS is taking to keep

African swine fever out of the country and prepare for a potential detection on U.S.

soil.

Creating a Protection Zone

Following the detection of African swine fever in the Dominican Republic and Haiti,

APHIS established a protection zone in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in

September 2021. This allows APHIS to intensify surveillance efforts and enforce

stricter movement controls in those locations to keep the disease out of the United

States.

APHIS also issued a Federal Order (119.43 KB) in September 2021 suspending the

interstate movement of all live swine, swine germplasm, swine products, and swine

byproducts from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland. APHIS

revised the Federal Order (146.24 KB) in December 2021 to allow processed pork

products and byproducts to move interstate under certain conditions.

Resources for Producers
APHIS launched Protect Our Pigs to equip producers with the tools and resources you

need to keep swine healthy and reduce the risk of spreading African swine fever.

You can find more information throughout our website:

African Swine Fever Factsheet (262.77 KB)

African Swine Fever Surveillance (Dashboard)

African Swine Fever Emergency Response

National Feral Swine Damage Management Program

We also suggest looking at resources provided by our partners:

National Pork Board

National Pork Producers Council

Swine Health Information Center

World Organisation for Animal Health

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

African Swine Fever Risk Assessments

APHIS conducted the assessments to examine different potential pathways the virus

could follow into the United States.

A qualitative assessment of the likelihood of ASF virus entry to the United

States (256.89 KB)

A non-animal origin feed ingredient risk evaluation framework (935.42 KB)

A literature review of non-animal origin feed ingredients and the transmission

of viral pathogens of swine (937.22 KB)